seroxat
I watched that Panorama programme on TV last night about Paroxetine - 'Seroxat' to the lay british person, and 'Paxil' to the lay American. i was actually expecting it to be scientific like, and having to struggle to watch it. I generally never watch Panorama, but this programme was actually very tabloidy and sensationalist. After watching it I thought, right, that's it, GSK are going to lose so much sales from this and get so much flak. But then i thought - well, actually, maybe they're not going to, but y'know I didn't really actually know about these psychological side effects and withdrawal symptoms. All I knew were these single line warnings that can be found in their information leaflets and in the british national formulary, that make them look like rare isolated incidences, and seem to be added in as an after thought to avoid litigation. I suppose it may not bankrupt GSK, but I hope it'll make doctor's think twice before prescribing them to the next whiny teenager like as if they were sweets. It'll certainly change the advice that i will now give anybody who asks me what i think about taking an SSRI, especially for something like panic attacks. I used to have panic attacks, and the thought of having yet more psychological side effects on top of what I was already going through sounds pretty dire. Ofcourse I can only speak from my own point of view and my own experiences, and everyone is different, but you can pull through panic attacks by relaxation exercises such as yogic breathing, or maybe by taking herbal preparations like valerian have been readily available for centuries which is found in 'Kalms' and is marketed for 'coping with life's ups and downs' or a homeopathic preparation called Bach's Rescue remedy. There are books available out there to help you as well, which would advice life style changes. I wish people would seriously consider options like these instead of going straight for the drugs.
In any case the programme admits that seroxat has helped millions of people, and as i see it the proportion of people who have had these serious psychological side effects are by far in the minority. so now I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens to it.